The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said it is deeply concerned after a child was confirmed dead and two others injured from a celebratory shooting that hit their home in Sebha, southern Libya.
UNICEF called on all mandated security actors to “protect children, and take all necessary measures to prevent the use of weapons in civilian areas.”
“No child should live in fear, and the practice of using gunfire in celebrations must stop. Ayoub, 6 years, was killed in his home, a place where children should be safe,” UNICEF added.
It pointed out that children in Libya continue to be exposed to guns and heavy weaponry violence at home, and in their neighbourhoods.
“These incidents impact children’s psychological and mental well-being and can have a long-term impact,” UNICEF confirmed. It sent its “heartfelt condolences to Ayoub’s family and friends and stands ready to help with psychosocial support.”
The round was reportedly shot in the air by cadets celebrating their recent graduation from the military college on 18 August.
In a statement, the Head of Sebha Medical Centre said the child “died of severe wounds.”
He noted that the “injured are being treated at the Centre, and if they are not stabilized, it means that there is no alternative but to transfer them to Tripoli, given the deteriorating medical services in southern Libya.”
In July, the Libyan Ministry of Health (MoH) said that at least 16 people were killed and 52 others were injured in clashes between armed groups in Tripoli.
Both groups involved in the fighting were nominally loyal to Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba’s Government of National Unity (GNU).
Former UN Secretary General’s Advisor to Libya Stephanie Williams expressed her outrage about the violence that erupted in Tripoli. She said that “the indiscriminate use of weapons in a heavily populated, urban area without safeguarding civilians is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and a sanctionable offence.”